Pill counter



Sept. 13, 1960 s, w 2,952,369

PILL COUNTER Filed Jan. 7. 1958 Rex 5. Raw

INVENTOR.

Mm BY ym 3% 2,952,369 Patented Sept. 13, 1960 nice PILL COUNTER Rex S. Rew, Atascadero, Calif. (13.0. Box 816, Galt, Calif.)

Filed Jan. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 707,551 2 Claims. (Cl. 214-1) This invention relates generally to calculating devices, and more particularly to a novel type of pill counter.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a pill counter which may be used to quickly and readily ascertain the total number of pills in any bottle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pill counter which will accommodate a large number of pills, and which has calculating indicia thereon so as to aid in the calculation of the number of pills contained therein.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a pill counter having a rounded pouring spout so that upon removal of the pills therefrom, there will be no clogging caused by the pills piling up against the walls of the opening.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which is exceedingly eifective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the pill counter comprising the present invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational plan View of the device illustrated in Figure 1, showing the position taken by the pills in phantom lines; and

Figure 3 is a front elevational view illustrating the pouring spout used in conjunction with the present invention.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the pill counter comprising the present invention. This pill counter 10 is constructed of a bottom 12 which is flat and has the general shape of a truncated triangle. This bottom 12 has a 60 angle at 14 and another angle at 16. The portion 18 of bottom 12 forms the bottom of the pouring spout, and is located where the third angle of triangle would normally be located.

Upstanding flanges acting as walls and connected to the outer edge of bottom 12 are designated 20, 22 and 24, and are connected between 18 and 14, 14 and 16 and 16 and 18, respectively. All these walls are disposed at right angles to bottom 12, except for the forward portions of walls 20 and 24 which are rounded as at 26 and 28 respectively so as to provide a smoothly curved pouring spout for the counter.

Two rows of calculating indicia 30 and 32 are located adjacent wall 24.

In use, the pills to be counted would be piled into the pill counter and then the counter would be given an agitating motion so as to allow each pill to contact the bottom 12 along its face so that none of the pills would be lying so as to cover each other. Then, the pills would be lined up in corner 14 by giving the pill counter a tapping motion with the fingers. Thus, the pills would be placed in the position illustrated in Figure 2. Since corner 14 is formed with a 60 angle, any triangular pattern into which the pills are placed will necessarily form an equilateral triangle with the same number of pills being located in each side of the triangle. So, in the example illustrated in Figure 2, each side of the triangle contains six pills. However, in order to calculate the total number of pills only the pills in one side of the triangle would be counted. This number would then be located in calculating column 30. Then, by looking immediately below the numeral 6 of column 30, the numeral 21 may be seen in column 32 of the calculating indicia. This means, that there are a total number of twenty-one pills in the triangle formed by having six pills along one leg. Then, the extra two pills remaining would be added to the numeral twenty-one thus giving a total of twentythree pills, which is the correct number of pills illustrated in the drawing. So, it may be seen that the total number of pills in any bottle may be calculated without counting each individual pill. This, results in a. great saving of time in hospitals and the like, where Federal laws require that certain types of pills be counted at the end of each shift in hospital personnel.

Qf course, it will be realized that this pill counter may be constructed of any desired substance, and that the curved pouring spout will prevent blocking of the pills.

It may now be seen that I have herein shown and described a new and improved type of pill counter.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A pill counter comprising a polygonal tray having a bottom and at least two adjoining upstanding sides secured thereto forming an included angle of 60 defining a corner in which a plurality of generally round pills may be nested in such a manner to form an equilateral triangle of pills wherein the number of pills forming each side of said triangle of pills will be equal to the number of the pills in each of the other two sides of the triangle of pills, determining indicia formed on said tray remote from said corner, said indicia including two spaced rows of indicia with corresponding indicia of said two rows being aligned, one of said rows of indicia comprising consecutive integers corresponding to the number of pills in one of the sides of a triangle of pills nested in said corner, and the other row comprising integers denoting the number of pills to be found in a triangle of pills having a number of pills in one of its sides indicated by the corresponding integer in said one row of indicia, a third upstanding side secured to said bottom adjoining one of said two sides and converging with but terminating a spaced distance from the other of said two sides forming an opening between said other and third sides through which pills contained within said tray may be poured therefrom, said two rows of indicia being formed on said bottom adjacent said third side.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said bottom and said third and other sides adjacent said opening are curved to form an opening having a smooth contour.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,664,224 Winneberger Dec. 29, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 92,638 Germany Oct. 14, 1896 10,865 Denmark May 25 1908 

